Virginia House of Delegates and Senate Races

Democrats plan to use new numbers to accomplish wide-ranging agenda.

This year’s General Assembly will be like no other. For starters, members walking the halls of the Capitol will look different. The crop of freshman includes the first transgender woman to serve in the Virginia General Assembly, the first lesbian, the first Asian-American women and the first two Latinas. Gone are the 12 Republican members who were unseated, all white males. Also gone are the three members who got out before the bloodbath that flipped their seats from red to blue, also all white males. In their place is a diverse and young group of new members who are eager to make their mark on the commonwealth.

With the Virginia House of Delegates at 51-49 Republicans over Democrats, recounts are closely watched

Democrat Karrie Delaney unseated Republican incumbent Jim LeMunyon in the election last week, swamping him with a decisive victory in a wave election that saw 12 House GOP incumbents unseated across Virginia. Delaney, a former Republican, campaigned on a platform of expanding Medicaid to 400,000 Virginians who live in poverty or with disabilities.

Virginia’s first Asian-American female delegate will be representing a part of Northern Virginia that has seen a radical transformation during the time since its incumbent took office more than two decades ago. Democrat Kathy Tran swamped Republican Lolita Mancheno-Smoak with a runaway victory, 61 percent to 39 percent. She ended up with 7,000 more votes than the Republican in the GOP-held seat. Mancheno-Smoak’s appeal was limited to two precincts with $5 million homes.

Democrats sweep statewide races and come close to taking over House of Delegates.

Democrats swept all three statewide seats this week and picked up so many seats in the House of Delegates that control of the chamber is now in doubt. Voters rejected Republican arguments about sanctuary cities and Confederate memorials, divisive issues that had moderate Republicans trying to win over the most extreme elements of President Donald Trump’s coalition.

Northern Virginia has more competitive seats than any other part of the commonwealth, a ring of districts that forms a beltway of sorts separating the inner solid blue in Arlington and Alexandria from the solid red in rural and exurban seats in Loudoun and Prince William. That puts Fairfax County squarely in the driver’s seat this November, when Democrats hope to pick up seats in an election that has balanced local issues like schools and roads with the ongoing reaction to President Donald Trump.

House District 67 is one of the most hotly contested races of the year.

On paper, the 67th House District seems like solidly blue territory. Democrat Hillary Clinton won it with almost 60 percent of the vote. But Republican Del. Jim LeMunyon (R-67) has been in office for four terms, a time that this slice of Northern Virginia has been trending increasingly toward the Democratic Party. That puts this district in the spotlight as one of the most competitive House of Delegates races in Virginia, and it’s one reason supporters of Democrat Karrie Delaney say she's got a shot at ousting LeMunyon.

House District 34 has swung to the left, the right and back again.

Northern Virginia’s wealthiest suburbs are also some of its most hotly contested battleground precincts, the House of Delegates district surrounding Great Falls that’s swung left and right and left again in recent years. What once was the home of legendary Republican Vince Callahan has become kind of jump ball after he announced his retirement a decade ago.

Candidates hoping to replace Dave Albo are both living the American Dream.

One is from Ecuador. The other is from Vietnam. Both are successful professional women hoping to fill the seat vacated by retiring Del. Dave Albo (R-42). But only one will prevail in November, creating one of the fiercest political contests on the ballot in Northern Virginia this year.

Republican Linda Schulz challenges incumbent Del. Jennifer Boysko.

Democratic incumbent Del. Jennifer Boysko (D-86) is a leading voice of the resistance to Republican leadership. But is she getting anything done in Richmond? Her Republican challenger doesn't think so.